15 August 2007

We are trying to figure out what route to take for the Drakensberg and perhaps some of the battlefields in KwaZulu-Natal. Some alternatives are as shown on the map (you can click on it to make it bigger):

We start from Harrismith, and the purple indicates our main route. We'd like to make a stop in Royal Natal National Park; the orange indicates a possible side trip.

Red and blue are alternative routes between getting back to the main purple route. There would be another possible side trip (orange) to Lesotho (organized tour so no worries about the car).

We will have a car, but it will not be a 4X4. We are also fully aware that there are lots of interesting places to stop along the way :-)

So, to those in the know, how would you do this trip? That is, which alternatives? Are there any other alternatives?

How much time will we need from getting to one specific place to another (if you know this)?

Any recommended places to stay for the night (camping, backpacker dives, b&b, whatever)?

Holidaymakers flying out of Heathrow Airport suffer more stress than fighter pilots in action or police in riots.

Heartbeat rates soar to levels often higher than athletes' during a race. And blood pressure levels also hit danger levels, a medical study warns.

The cause... queues, unfriendly staff, lack of information, poor air and lack of basic facilities like toilets, says top neuropsychologist David Lewis.

Last month his research team wired up four people passing through Heathrow's Terminal 4 to test their stress levels. And the team found the experience is putting everyday passengers in grave danger. And Dr Lewis insists: "This is not alarmist but the result of in-depth research into what happens as people negotiate our overcrowded flagship airport."

Within minutes of entering Terminal 4, heartbeats increased from a healthy 55 per minute to more than 70 - and some even exceeded 200. Blood pressure levels rose from an average 123/81 to peaks of 170/99.

Dr Lewis said: "In trying to escape the stresses of life by going on holiday, we are harming our health."